Nawzad ( ps, نوزاد; also Now Zad) is a small town, the centre of Nawzad District in
Helmand Province
Helmand (Pashto/Dari: ; ), also known as Hillmand, in ancient times, as Hermand and Hethumand, is one of the 34 provinces of Afghanistan, in the south of the country. It is the largest province by area, covering area. The province contains 13 ...
,
Afghanistan
Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...
. It is located at at an altitude of 1221 metres ASL. It was the site of the Battle of Nawzad.
Surrounded to the southwest and east by mountains, the town consists of a bazaar, one road, and a maze of mud-brick houses and compounds, interspersed with narrow alleys. The local economy traditionally revolves around opium poppy farming. Like much of Afghanistan, Nawzad and the surrounding area were largely peaceful after the 2001 invasion.
The animal rescue charity Nowzad Dogs, founded by Pen Farthing, is named after the town.
Climate
With an influence from the local steppe climate, Nawzad features a
cold semi-arid climate
A semi-arid climate, semi-desert climate, or steppe climate is a dry climate sub-type. It is located on regions that receive precipitation below potential evapotranspiration, but not as low as a desert climate. There are different kinds of semi-ar ...
(''BSk'') under the
Köppen climate classification
The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...
. The average temperature in Nawzad is 16.0 °C, while the annual precipitation averages 162 mm.
July is the warmest month of the year with an average temperature of 28.8 °C. The coldest month January has an average temperature of 2.9 °C.
Conflict
During the early post-Taliban years, the town thrived, helped by irrigation from the
United Nations
The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmoniz ...
even began building a school. But by early 2007, the estimated 10,000 civilian population, including Nawzad's police force, had fled, driven out by violence from returning
Taliban
The Taliban (; ps, طالبان, ṭālibān, lit=students or 'seekers'), which also refers to itself by its state name, the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a Deobandi Islamic fundamentalist, militant Islamist, jihadist, and Pasht ...
insurgents.
In the years following, Nawzad became a ghost town and
British
British may refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies.
** Britishness, the British identity and common culture
* British English, ...
,
Gurkha
The Gurkhas or Gorkhas (), with endonym Gorkhali ), are soldiers native to the Indian subcontinent, Indian Subcontinent, chiefly residing within Nepal and some parts of Northeast India.
The Gurkha units are composed of Nepalis and Indian Go ...
, and Estonian forces only managed to maintain a stalemate in the region. Now Zad became one of the most bitterly contested districts since British forces first moved into Helmand in 2006.
In December 2007 a small force of a British Army OMLT (
Operational Mentoring and Liaison Team
Operational Mentoring and Liaison Teams (OMLTs) were the NATO equivalent of the United States' Embedded Training Teams and were active in Afghanistan.
Countries
Teams from several countries
provided training and operational support to the A ...
) with 7 soldiers drawn from 26 Regiment, Royal Artillery & 151 (London) Transport Regiment, Royal Logistic Corps who were mentoring a company of approximately 70 ANA soldiers supported by 14 soldiers from US Special Forces Task Force 232 deployed from Camp Shorabak. The task was to provide a diversion for the upcoming Operation Mar Karadad (the re-taking of Musa Qualeh). This was done by mounting a deliberate attack on Nipple Compound, a Taliban compound to the south of Now Zad.
In 2008,
U.S. Marines
The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through combi ...
arrived to replace the British and Estonian contingents. However, as of June 2009, the Marines seemed to have come to a similar standstill with the Taliban insurgents. Much of this battle is highlighted in the boo 15 Years of War
In December 2009, U.S. Marines launched a new assault with 1,000 troops and several 70-ton assault breacher vehicles. They reported to have pressed into a remote Taliban stronghold during the joint American-British Operation "Cobra's Anger". In 2016 Nawzad was under Taliban control.Mujib Masha "Four districts, including Musa Qala and Nawzad, that were the focus of thousands of American and coalition troops during the 2010 surge are under Taliban control." NYT, Aug. 14, 2016
Helmand Province campaign
The Helmand province campaign was a series of military operations conducted by the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) forces against Taliban insurgents and other local groups in the Helmand Province of Afghanistan. Their objective ...
– ongoing ISAF campaign in Helmand Province, Afghanistan
*
Helmand Province
Helmand (Pashto/Dari: ; ), also known as Hillmand, in ancient times, as Hermand and Hethumand, is one of the 34 provinces of Afghanistan, in the south of the country. It is the largest province by area, covering area. The province contains 13 ...